Roundabout
by silverkat1620
Summary: JF Casey and RJ begin to notice each other. R.J./Casey Formerly titled Replay.
1. Replay

Replay, by silverkat1620

Summary - Casey's keeps noticing things.

Pairing - R.J./Casey a.k.a. Rasey

Rating - I'm gonna go with PG on this one, just to be safe.

A/N - Okay this is the first of my stories written for the PRSW22, off of prompt #14 obsessive. No spoilers, unless you've never seen as episode in which case I can't help you.

Disclaimer - I do not own these characters. I am poor. Damnit.

**_Replay_**

Casey replays it over and over in his head.

He's gotten really good at it, imagining. He's become meticulous about details. The strength, the dexterity, of R.J.'s hands as they work together in JKP's kitchen, kneading dough, chopping things, or cleaning tables out in front. Hands that are always in motion, always dancing through the air.

He's memorized the different qualities of R.J.'s touch while they're training. How it's gentle to correct a stance, or firm to knead out a pain from the latest of Dai Shi's monsters. He's obsessive about calluses, scars, even paper cuts. Casey never understood the expression, "know it like the back of my hand." How often do you look at your hands? But, now he can quote chapter and verse on R.J.'s hands.

And at night, while he berates himself for not being brave enough today, not just going for it, he thinks of R.J.'s hands. He imagines their firmness, their gentleness cradling his head, or pushing him away, and he tells himself that whichever it is he has to go for it. He has to know.

At night, Casey replays the possibilities over and over in his head, and sighs to himself. Either way he has to know.


	2. Revelry

Revelry

For Disclaimer and Summary see Chapter One

**_Revelry_**

On Theo's twenty-first birthday, the Rangers fight twelve Rinshi, a cobra monster (who's name Casey has already forgotten), and Camille. Camille was far and away the worst of the group. Casey remembers her face after they'd kicked Jarrod/Dai Shi's butt the time when the two had snatched R.J., he figures that the two must have had a _major_ fight just before the battle.

Some of the things she'd said were just plain _mean_.

When the three of them had gotten back to the loft, R.J. was nowhere to be found. Casey'd been a bit nervous, not quite being able to forget the whole "werewolf" incident, but Lily had been the one to find the note. And the beer. The beer that R.J.'s note said that they were expressly forbidden to drink, and they should behave themselves because he was going to be gone for the night. The note went on to say that he would expect them all for late training the next day, as a birthday present to Theo. Casey had no idea how Lily had managed to turn her laugh into such a convincing cough, his was pitiful.

There had been nine beers, well three beers and six hard ciders, apparently R.J., while cooler than the average Pai Zhuq master, was serious about late training the next day. Casey has never had alcohol before, except for some champagne at his cousin's wedding two years ago, but he doesn't mention that to either of the others. Nobody really treats him like a cub anymore, but he has no desire to insight a brand new bout of teasing. The three of them polish of the bottles in short order, and if there was laughter before, it is nothing compared to the laughter there is now.

Lily convinced Theo to show off his surprisingly good Master Mao impersonation, and Casey is on his back clutching his stomach he's laughing so hard. Lily is on her side giggling, and Theo finally cracks up in the middle of his patented "Mao's Maturity Lecture", and falls backwards onto his butt with a small _'thump'_. It feels good to laugh, when your fighting to save the world laughter can be in short order, and desperate demand. Casey sometimes wonders if that's why R.J. is like he is.

To keep the laughter going.

But _wondering_ about R.J. leads to _speculating_ about R.J., which leads to uncomfortable morning training sessions with R.J. after far too creative nights with R.J. in starring roles. Casey doesn't know where his subconscious came up with half of that stuff, and he's not really sure he wants to. He's pretty sure the Victorian type one came from one of the bodice-rippers that Lily made him swear he'd never tell about, after he caught her reading one on her break at JKP last week. He opens his mouth to ask Lily if she has any idea, but stops before the words leave his throat. He smiles, presses a finger against his own lips, and reminds himself that it's a secret.

Lily notices the gesture and lifts her head, still giggling madly. Her eyes are dancing and her lips are pink, the color of fresh watermelon, and Casey feels a pang in his stomach that reminds him that he'd had a crush on her when they first met. But the pang in his belly doesn't transmute to heat, and Casey doesn't try to force it. Lily is his friend. His partner, teacher, sister, and confidant. The constant low warmth that they have now is like a fire in a log cabin, the kind you curl up near with a good book. He would never change that for a heat that won't spark on it's own.

It takes him a second to realize that those watermelon lips are forming words, and he might want to pay attention. "I think you've had enough."

Theo glances at him, and then looks at her like she's being particularly dense. "You 're one to talk. Can you stand and walk or do you need me to carry you?"

Lily stops giggling to focus a glare at Theo, but considering it's Lily, and they all saw Camille in fine form early, it lacks a certain quality. That thought makes Casey dizzy for a second, and he shakes his head gently to clear it. He only succeeds in making himself dizzier. He lies back, flat against the ground, and digs his fingers into the wood, trying to find an anchor. He has a vague feeling that there should be claws that the end of his fingers to help with this process.

In the corner of his ear he hears muffled thumps as Theo and Lily clamber to their feet, no grace at all in their movements. If he were more coherent he would track their progress through the loft. A bang and a low curse as Theo walks into the punching bag. Lily's giggles abruptly morphing into an "oomph" as she trips on the change from mats to hardwood. The gentle _'bang'_ of the door as to Lily's room closing, and the less gentle _'creak, bang'_ of his and Theo's door opening, and closing. He has a hazy idea that he should be upset that they left him where he lay, but at the moment he feels warm, and lazy. His eyes drift close, while his fingers relax slightly against the grain of the wood.

The next thing he aware of are a pair of arms threaded around him, trying to pull him into a nearly upright position. There is a shoulder, broad and warm, under his temple, and a neck just in front of his nose. Since it's right there he pushes his nose forward, straight into the juncture of the two, and hears a half laugh, half grunt.

"Jeeze Casey, if you make me drop you, I think that I might just leave you where you lay."

It's R.J.'s voice that comes to him through the dark, right by his ear, Casey would recognize it anywhere. He lifts his head, and has to blink a few times to clear his eyes. The loft is recognizable around them and he smiles. R.J. lets out one of those half laughs again, and Casey blearily realizes that he must have tickled him, smiling against his neck like that. Slowly, like a dream, he pulls back and R.J.'s face comes into focus. He must still have a big, dopey grin on his face, because R.J. begins to smile with gentle amusement. Casey's never seen him smile like that before, and he wonders, if R.J. is all about making _them_ laugh, who makes _him_ laugh? Casey can't think of anyone, and it strikes him as the saddest thing in the universe. He shifts his weight fully onto R.J., his arms draped around R.J.'s waist and shoulder.

"Casey ?"

R.J. sounds curious, but not nervous or disturbed so Casey tightens his grip slightly and responds, "Yeah?" Well, he means to say yeah, but his face is mashed up against R.J.'s neck so it comes out more like, 'Uuuuh.'

"Any particular reason you're hugging me?"

"I thought you needed it." 'Ithououneedidid'

"Okay then." He feels a motion, up and down, up and down, on the center of his back, and it's nice. He shifts a little against R.J., and then pauses. He's against R.J. and neither of them has just been beaten to a pulp. This is an opportunity, and Casey has a Brilliant Idea. He pulls back from R.J. a little, after one last snuffle against his neck. R.J. makes another one of those sounds, and Casey knows that no matter what he is going to remember that sound for the rest of his life.

R.J. meets his eyes again, and the gentle look is still there, painted in those bright emerald-colored eyes. He begins to sway forward, every thing in him demanding that a kiss would be the best thing in the world right now. But R.J. makes some kind of super quick movement, that reminds Casey that this man is a Pai Zhuq Master, and they're suddenly side-by-side, his arm over R.J.'s shoulders, his wrist held loosely in R.J.'s hand. They begin to walk slow and steady towards his and Theo's room, and the Brilliant Idea slips away as suddenly every brain cell Casey has is focused on walking. He thinks that it should be easier to do this then this, but for some reason R.J. keeps swaying back and forth, and won't just walk a straight line.

They get to the door, _'creak, bang'_, and enter with a slight thud. Casey wonders why R.J. thought it was a good idea to bang in to the wall like that, but he lets it go as an R.J. thing. Together they stumble towards his bed, as Theo snores lightly on the other side of the room, and Casey thinks that they'll probably have to be quiet, so as not to wake him.

Casey's butt hits the mattress with a muted _'thump'_, and he feels like his whole body is magnetized to it, because his back hits it only a moment later. He hears a soft chuckle from somewhere above him, and R.J. mutters something that sounds like, "what am I going to do with you." The voice is soft and fond though so Casey just smiles up at him.

R.J. meets his eyes again, and Casey remembers the Brilliant Idea. As R.J. begins to turn away, Casey captures his wrist, and he stops to look back. Casey sits up, still holding his prize, and tugs. R.J. doesn't move, he just look a little confused, so Casey tugs again, harder.

This time R.J. stumbles a bit downwards, and Casey lifts up to meet him halfway. The moment their lips touch Casey feels fire break out in his belly, hotter than anything he's ever known. R.J.'s lips are dry, and warm against his own, and R.J.'s hand is firm and broad against his shoulder. Then the hand is pushing, and the lips are gone and Casey realizes that his eyes are closed, so he opens them.

R.J.'s eyes are not amused. They are filled with something that Casey has never seen before, something that makes the fire in his belly expand outwards into his veins. He likes it. Casey stretches up to catch R.J.'s lips again, but the older man leans back, his wrist slipping from Casey's grasp as he crosses away from him, towards the door.

"You're still drunk, Casey. Get some sleep." R.J.'s voice is still soft, but Casey can't see his eyes through the dark anymore. There is a flash of light as R.J. slips out of the room, and then there is just the darkness, and Theo's snores to fill it.


	3. Idiots

Idiots

For disclaimer and other official type stuff see Chapter One.

Okay here it is, the fallout from the last chapter. I hope you like it. Also slight spoiler warning for "Friends Don't Fade Away". So, you know, be warned. Enjoy!

**_Idiots_**

Men are idiots.

Lily is not by _any_ stretch of the imagination an idiot. Ever since Theo's birthday two weeks ago things in the world of JKP and their Ranger duties are good. Or as good as a six-year-olds' Princess Purdy theme birthday party, (with thirteen additional friends, and two hassled mothers), and a rampaging monster that seems to be shaped vaguely like a platypus with teeth, can be. All told Lily would rather face the platypus, the comic gold to be mined there is unending. Or would have been if the atmosphere in the loft were less, what's the word, _strained_.

Which brings her back to her original point. Men. Are. Idiots.

Fran is not an idiot. Fran knows. Lily knows that Fran knows, and that Fran knows that she knows. (And that thought makes her head hurt just to think it.) Lily finds herself giving Fran significant looks, and receiving more of the same.

Theo is not an idiot… on purpose. (Well he might be, but after three years Lily feels she has to give him the benefit of the doubt.) He's just sort of… oblivious. If he knows anything about what's going on, or the undercurrents it's causing, than he's also a much better actor than she ever gave him credit for being. Master Mao impersonations, aside.

No. The _real_ idiots are the other two who live in their strange, tight little universe of JKP, Ranger duties, and the loft. The two who are going to make the loft unlivable in very a short period of time. The two that Lily is going to have to do _something_ about soon.

R.J. and Casey.

R.J. R.J. who's as lovable and outgoing as ever with the customers at JKP, who made the six-year-old who didn't get a Princess Purdy crown laugh like crazy when three seconds before she'd been crying like a faucet. R.J. who closes down the moment he sets foot in the loft like someone flipping a switch. R.J. whose eyes have begun to follow Casey when he thinks no one's looking.

And Casey. Casey who seems as oblivious as Theo to the reasons for what's going on, but seems at least a little aware that something _is_. Casey whose eyes follow R.J. even _more_ than they did _before_ Theo's birthday. Casey, who stares at R.J. outright from the dojo of the loft while he works in the kitchen (or vice versa). Casey, who's hand drifts up to lips when he's staring, and who always looks surprised to find it there, when awareness returns.

Lily is not an idiot. She knows darn well that Casey's been attracted to R.J. since pretty much the moment he came careening out of the back of JKP, with pizza dough covering his face and a smile that infected everybody around him. She's less sure of when R.J. realized he wanted Casey, but she knows that he does. She also knows that somehow Casey made it back to his and Theo's room the night of Theo's birthday, and that the next morning R.J. was tense and snappish. She figures somebody, (probably Casey), made a move, and that somebody else, (R.J.), felt the need to turn him down. She can list a few of the reasons of the top of her head, (student/teacher, drunk off his butt, just a kid, the list goes on), but she's also pretty sure Casey doesn't remember. Not consciously anyway.

But, (and this is the kicker), neither of them will acknowledge that anything is _wrong_! They just move in circles around each other pretending that it's all just like it was, and Lily can practically _feel_ the air stretch closer to snapping point. If that happens it's gonna go one of two ways, they get a happy ending, or everything in this strange, tight little universe shatters along with it.

The truth is, none of those reasons are good enough. Casey's over eighteen, and R.J. may be their teacher, but he's also their teammate. Something needs to happen soon because Lily will be _darned_ if she lets her friends suffer just because they're idiots.

Lily nods to herself with a smile, and goes to find Fran. She needs a cohort, and they need a plan.

And R.J. and Casey, they need a happy ending.


	4. Caught

Caught

A/N - For Disclaimer see Replay. Also, yes, I took the liberty of giving Casey an age, if you don't like it make up your own fanon.

**Caught**

R.J. is not entirely sure how he came to be locked in his own hall closet.

Well, actually he's pretty clear on that part. He distinctly remembers following Lily down the hall with Fran behind him, both of them babbling about a spider that was "as long as your forearm, and I think it must be Dai Shi's new monster R.J., seriously, spiders just do not grow this big on their own."

He has a crystal sharp memory of Lily stopping outside of, and opening the closet, of his own momentary confusion, and of Fran's hands, small, and narrow, and surprisingly strong, against the middle of his back as he was unceremoniously shoved into said closet. He also clearly remembers how loud the lock sounded when it clicked into place.

The only thing he's fuzzy on is the _why_. Which is the exact question he's contemplating when the sound of muffled voices reach his ears. He hears Lily and Fran's high pitches and a lower timbre that he can't quite make out whether it's Casey or Theo.

R.J. is not an imbecile, and he is not blind, (many apologies to Master Swoop). He's noticed Lily and Fran heads together, studying him in the pizza parlor, in the loft, and quickly averting their eyes when he glanced their way. He'd hoped it was something, anything other than _this_, and with a fierce, (if sudden), devotion he prays to whatever powers of light there are in the universe that it's Theo the two girls are leading down the hallway to be Shanghaied.

His hopes die a quick but painful death when the closet door is flung open, and he meets Casey's confused brown eyes. Right before Lily shoves him from behind, (huh, they must have switched places), and straight into R.J.

The door slams closed. As R.J. struggles to keep his feet, (there's not enough room in here to fall down), he can hear a scraping sound, and then the doorknob jiggling a little. He figures the girls, (clever girls), have wedged something under it to postpone their escape.

He gives a moment's contemplation to throwing himself against it, and lets the thought go just as quickly. Lily is clever and thorough, and _Fran_, well Fran's read a lot of books and is one of the smartest people he knows all by herself. Whatever they put against that door is going to be heavy. These girls don't do things by halves. R.J.'s shoulder protests at the thought, and R.J. shrugs it to loosen the muscles. He feels the bite of fingers pressing into his sides, and he realizes that it's Casey trying to get leverage to get his feet under him. He also realizes that he's got Casey wrapped in his arms from when the girls threw him in. They're pressed against each other from thigh to torso, one of Casey's feet, (one of his legs), caught between R.J.'s. R.J. lets go immediately. Too immediately as it turns out. Casey flails with the sudden loss of support, trying to stay upright, (damn small closets).

"Whoa, man. Calm down and get your balance. I think we're gonna be here awhile." R.J. tells him, catching an arm to help Casey find his balance. The arm is warm under his palm, and as soon as Casey stops flailing R.J. lets go.

"R.J.?"

R.J. matches Casey's questioning tone with one of his own. "Yeah, Casey?"

"What's going on?"

R.J. contemplates for a minute, (he's Zen, contemplation is second nature when you're Zen), and goes for the _you_-ask-the-obvious-question route, "What do you mean, Casey?"

R.J. may not be able to see much in the dim light that spills from under the door, but he _can_ see Casey's jaw clench tight. "I mean, why are Lily and Fran playing reverse Hide-and-Go-Seek with us?"

He just can't help himself. "Technically, I think it's more reverse Sardines, or just tag team Sardines for that matter." R.J. watches Casey's jaw clench even more, and let's himself feel a short burst of pleasure. Serves the cub right, stirring things up.

"R.J. I'm serious! Do you think they could be," Casey leans in, (quite a feat), and lowers his tone, "possessed?"

R.J. meets his student's eyes and all teasing is forgotten. Casey is so earnest, and so worried for his friends that R.J. can't bring himself to cause the boy more pain. "No Casey, I don't think they're possessed."

The worry doesn't fade from the boy's eyes, though it does change shade slightly. "Then why are we locked in a closet!?" The words are said quick and low, and R.J. can feel Casey's breath hit his own lips as he speaks them, (too close, too _close_). R.J. pulls his head back from Casey's, and tries to form an answer that doesn't involve Theo's birthday, drunkenness, kissing, or overly observant employees.

It's proves difficult, Casey is right there, and the closet is slowly filling up with his scent, (why aren't closets _ventilated_?), and R.J. feels almost dizzy with it. The scent that fills his nose isn't overlaid with pizza ingredients, or monster goop, or even soap. The girls must have caught him just after his workout, because Casey smells like sweat, and practically radiates heat, and R.J. knows in a moment of perfect clarity, (the Zen part of him is all a quiver, moments of clarity are rare), that if he does not get out of this closet very soon, he is screwed.

His eyes move all over Casey's face, avoiding his eyes, and come to rest on his lips, (soft, soft lips, _no_), and he sees that they're moving. R.J. pulls himself together, and tunes back in.

"…okay? R.J.?"

"Hmmm?"

"I said, are you okay? Only you kind of zoned out on me there." Casey's voice has a tight, forced quality to it, like he's trying hard not to freak out. R.J. figures it's best to reassure him.

"I'm fine Casey. Just had a…Zen moment, that's all." R.J. can see, (feel), Casey breathe out at that, and goes on. "And I think the girls put us in here because it's a slow day and they were feeling mischievous." This is close enough to true that R.J. only feels a short pang of guilt, easily shrugged aside. After all it's better then, "Gee Casey, I think the girls have figured out that I can't go twenty minutes without wanting to jump your bones even though you're my _student_, and barely _nineteen_, and that they've locked us in here in the hopes that I'll lose control and do it. Sorry."

Casey shoots him a look, and for a second, (just a second), he fears his inner monologue has become his _outer_ monologue. Casey opens his mouth to speak, but whatever he intends to say is cut off by a thump on the other side of the door. Both their heads swivel to watch the door, as they listen to something scrape across the floor. Two sets of eyes drop to the doorknob as two sets of ears listen to the lock click.

The door opens to reveal Theo, standing in a rectangle of light, looking at the two of them like they're an interesting new kind of psychotic. R.J. is the first to move, brushing past both his students ignoring questions, and heading straight for his room. He crosses the threshold, and turns to shut the door. Casey is at the end of the hall, Theo at his side looking up at the tiger, apparently asking a question, (probably "what the hell were you doing locked in a closet"). Casey, however, is staring straight at him. R.J. isn't sure what to make of the boy's expression. It's looks like…suspicion, and curiosity, (an something else, something hopeful), mixed together.

R.J. shuts the door and takes a deep, cleansing breath. That look stays in his minds eye, and Casey's scent is still in his nostrils. He is so. Screwed.


	5. Crushed

Crushed

For disclaimer see Replay. Spoilers up to "The Path of the Rhino".

**Crushed**

Casey wants to be alone with a rock to beat his head against more than anything else in the world right now. For four days he has been wrestling with, and second guessing himself. Thinking that there was no possible way that R.J. could want him. No way.

Except… his dreams, which have been getting steadily more and more vivid; have, since the Closet Incident, exploded into glorious Technicolor, breathtaking Cinemascope, and Stereophonic sound, (and he really has to stop watching musicals with Theo). They have forced him to think that there's more going on then he realizes.

Dreams of R.J. have started _plaguing_ him, with details that Casey wouldn't have ever thought himself capable of, (that he still doesn't think himself capable of), like the scent of him, (sharp, musky, almost dark), or the feel of his arms under Casey's hands, (strong, corded with muscle). But mostly, it's his mouth that gives Casey the shivers now, (along with the hands, he thinks it might be a tie between the two for which he wants on him more).

How could he possibly know that R.J.'s lips are soft, but slightly chapped, that his breath is sweet, moist, and slightly spicy, like cinnamon gum? That his mouth, shockingly enough, tastes nothing like pizza? He can't quite describe the way that he knows R.J. tastes, even in his own head, but then again that isn't the point. The point is that he knows. It's not imagination, or conjecture, or even a wild guess. It's knowledge; a lesson so strong and well learned that the knowledge sits in his belly like a warm, familiar weight. Like it should have been there all along.

Which brings him back to tonight, and the reason he feels the pressing and immediate need to beat his own head in.

Tonight he went down the hall to R.J.'s room. It was the middle of the night no disruptions possible, (well, okay, _possible_, but not _likely_ which for a Ranger is as good as it's gonna get). He'd nearly made it to the door, second-guessing himself the whole way. Thinking that he had just imagined R.J.'s arms tightening on him in the closet, and how there was no possible way that R.J. had been staring at him like he wanted to devour him. That he was just projecting, and that R.J. was being polite for the last four days, and not avoiding him at _all_. So, he stopped just down the hallway, to psych himself up. Everything was about to change, R.J. would turn him down, tell him no, send him back to his room, and he would go. Or… R.J. would tell him yes. Casey could feel the hope and joy of that thought swell I his chest, and then he felt it leave him like he'd been gut punched a moment later. There in front of R.J.'s door was Dominic, their newest teammate, and R.J.'s old buddy. Shirtless, and barefoot. And R.J.'s door was opening.

Casey had turned and walked away as quickly as possible.

Rock, head, and solitude, that's all he wants now… actually, he should make that Dominic's head. Yeah, Dom's head, and a quiet place to bash it in, that would be perfect.

That was all he wanted now, Dominic's head, for his heart. Even trade.


	6. Revelation

Revelation

For Disclaimer and legal stuff go see chapter 1

**Revelation**

When R.J. opens the door to find Dominic on the other side, he doesn't say a word. Instead he simply steps back to allow Dom to enter. He would have anyway, but stepping back gives R.J. a feeling of control over his own destiny; considering how crazy his Chi has been for the four days (several weeks, liar), even illusory control is comforting.

Dom enters the room the same way he has the entire time R.J. has known him, like nothing already inside of it, or entering could possibly surprise him. It's an act of course and R.J. wonders if they've been out of communication for so long, that Dom's forgotten that R.J. _knows_ it's an act. The question is answered a moment later when the door thuds gently closed.

R.J. finds his back pressed tight to the wall, and Dom pressed firmly into his front. Dom's hands are chasing each other up and down his torso, and Dom's lips are nimble against his own. It's been years since the last time the two of them were together like this, but the muscle memory, snaps forward like it was only days. R.J. opens his mouth to Dom's questing tongue, and kisses him back.

It's wrong. Every part of him shudders at the taste of Dom on his tongue, and not in the happy-fun way. The wolf is howling, like it hasn't since they merged with Flit's help. He pushes on the body in front of him, and Dominic, to his credit, pulls off.

"What?" Dom's eyes are bright, his skin is flushed, his hair is mussed, and he's beautiful. R.J. feels sick, physically ill, looking at him and knowing that it's because of _him_. "R.J. what's wrong?"

R.J. doesn't answer. Instead he pushes past Dom, and runs straight for the bathroom. He barely makes it before the world grays out.

He's not sure how long he's been there when he registers the feeling of a damp washcloth on the back of his neck, and the sounds of movement in the other room. He pulls himself upright, cleans up a bit, and when he feels slightly more human, he meets his own eyes in the mirror. They don't look any different then they did before he'd gone to answer his door; R.J. feels like they really should be yellow, or slanted, or something. After all, the wolf's decided on a mate, and done it thoroughly enough that R.J. can't even fool around with his best friend, and ex-lover anymore. There should be some physical sign of that. He'd feel better if there were, (he'd be able to say it was all the wolf, that he didn't really want the boy).

He takes a deep breath, lets it out slowly, and leaves the bathroom. Dom is sitting on the bed, and looks up at his entrance.

"So, I'll take that as a 'no' then?" He grins the question, but it's shiny and false. R.J. tries to smile back, but it probably comes out as more of a grimace. His best friend is still here, but evidently his ex hasn't taken off, which would have made this easier. He pretends not to notice that they don't meet each other's eyes.

"Dom, man, I'm sorry." First things first, and after all Dom really does deserve to know just what's going on, (and it'll be nice to tell someone). "It, ya know, wasn't you, I mean obviously it was you, but it was no more you than it would have been someone else, actually it was less you than someone else, so really it wasn't you at all." He says it quickly and hopes.

Hope dies as he watches Dom work through the monster of an explanation that R.J. had tried so hard to hide behind. He's been spoiled, he thinks, Dom has a lot more experience dealing with him at his most recalcitrant than the cubs. R.J. lets out a breath, and waits for Dom to prove it.

"So, do you mean, that if you'd have kissed someone else, the being sick would have been worse, or that it would have come faster?" The question comes out slowly, but it sums things up perfectly. (Damnit!)

"Because it was you, and you're you, and you and I used to be you and I, it wasn't as bad, or as quick as it could have," (should have), "been."

Dom nods, and catches his eyes for the first time. "So why'd it happen at all?" Those eyes are as familiar to R.J. as Master Swoop's voice, or one of Master Mao's proverbs (the same proverbs he's taken to using). Tonight though Dom's eyes are sharp, and cool, and their color makes R.J. long for a very different set to be staring into. Still, R.J. doesn't allow himself to look away. There's too much between them, friendship and otherwise, to do a disservice like that to Dom.

R.J. takes another deep breath, (seem to be taking a lot of those), and lets it out slowly. Time to answer the sixty-four thousand dollar question.

"I've found my mate."

A minute passes, and another, after another minute, Dom's eyes lose their chill, and begin to sparkle; his mouth stretches outwards in a massive grin. A real one this time.

"Oh really?"

"Yeah." R.J.'s voice surprises him. It's tired, and a little worn. That he'd expected, he _feels_ tired and a little worn. What's surprising is the thread of happiness that's running through it.

"Congratulations, man!" Dom's on his feet and crossing the room with swift purposeful strides, he stumbles a bit when he gets to R.J. though. "If I hug you is it gonna make you ralph again?"

R.J. smiles despite himself, and shakes his head. Dom's arms come around him in a bear hug that actually lifts him off the ground for a couple of seconds. After his return to earth Dom pounds him on the back a couple of times, and steps away, smiling.

R.J. looks him full in the face and smiles back for a moment. His best friend is standing in front of him again.

"So, who's the lucky one?"

And that's all it takes for R.J.'s smile to fall right off his face.


	7. Assessment

Assessment

Author's Notes - Ha ha! Here it is, _Dom's_ point of view. So, since we don't have much canonical evidence to work with this is my own take on the character. Deal. Spoilers up to "Race to the Nexus".

All legal stuff is in chapter one.

**Assessment**

Dominic was not expecting a whole heck of a lot when he showed up at R.J.'s place to break up the monotony of his trip. A friend to catch up with, some food, some laughs, a soft place to lay his head, and possibly some fun, and strenuous activity to lead up to the laying of heads; that was all that he expected when he hopped off the ferry at Ocean Bluff. He did not expect three impossibly young Pai Zhuq students, one absolutely beautiful and intriguingly quirky pizza parlor manager, and one best friend so close to the edge that it was difficult to tell that he hadn't already crossed it. Unless you knew him _really_ well.

So, Dom did what he was good at, he played goofy, and observed. He observed Lily and Fran's obvious affection for one another, he observed Theo's crush on Lily (which had all the hallmarks of a long standing, slowly fading, hanger-on), and he observed R.J. and Casey. He also observed _the girls_ observing R.J. and Casey.

R.J. and Casey were exceedingly observable.

He hadn't gotten to know Casey very well in the short time they'd been teammates. Every time the kid seemed ready to give in, and try being friends something seemed to make snap back to being, well, a little bratty.

Dominic could understand it, sort of. Casey was young, even by Pai Zhuq standards. The fact that Master Mao had chosen him when he'd been a first year, (if Theo was to be believed), said a lot for him though. Well, either that, or it said a lot about Master Mao's senility rating. A supposed threat to his leadership, or more significantly his place with his friends and his master, would be treated with hostility. Still, Dom hadn't been quite sure what was going on with the little tiger. He'd done his best to make it clear that he wasn't after anything but a place of his own to belong, a place where _he_ fit. Casey just hadn't seemed to want to get that.

Now, as he shuts R.J.'s door behind him, he smiles to himself. Casey hadn't been responding to the overtures of friendship that he'd made because of _R.J._ Dominic wanted to laugh; but R.J. was still awake, and would probably come kick his ass if he heard Dom laughing at him again.

He'd gone to R.J.'s room for a bit of companionship, (hopefully the naked kind), and it had all gone swimmingly up until the moment R.J.'s stomach had decided it needed to be empty right that second. So, he'd damped down a washcloth, left R.J. to it, and waited. He was better at waiting then anybody ever gave him credit for.

It had been worth the wait.

After R.J. had finished attempting to remove his internal organs by way of his throat, he'd come back out to the main room, apologized, and started to talk. Some of it Dom had known, or assumed; the best parts were new. When R.J. got to the bit about the girls and the closet, Dom hadn't been able to hold in his laughter any longer. They'd had to stop for nearly fifteen minutes. Five while he laughed, and other ten while he'd fought off R.J.'s attempts to alternately smother, or bludgeon him to death with a pillow. Dom had won, and with the pillow as his spoils, had made himself comfortable for the rest of it.

His best friend, had, somehow in the course of his time away from the academy, gotten to be the star of a modern melodrama. He'd become teacher and mentor to a pack of cubs that had been violently deprived of their first, he'd patched things up with his long estranged father, he'd become a werewolf, (and he'd been irritatingly close lipped about _that_. All he'd done was look uncomfortable, rub at his shoulder, and change the subject), and he'd become a Power Ranger. And somewhere in there he'd managed to fall hopelessly in love with one of the aforementioned cubs. Dom felt a little like a piker in comparison. All he'd done was visit six of the continents, (darn Antarctica!).

Apparently, the love part had come to a head a few weeks before Dom's ferry had landed, with a drunken kiss from the cub that had shocked R.J. out of oblivion and into denial. A denial that, fittingly enough, he'd been ripped out of by Dom's kiss. Dom still wasn't sure if he was proud of that, or insulted by it. Sure, it was cool that the animal knew exactly what it wanted, and was unwilling to accept any substitutes. Every Pai Zhuq student got a nifty private conversation with their mentor about it just before they graduated from the academy. Dom's had consisted of a lot of eye contact avoidance, and a warning "that once you've found your mate, that's it…no one else, or there might be some unpleasant consequences." Dom supposed that compared to turning into a werewolf, barfing up your lungs might be a little tame, but then again how often did the werewolf thing happen under normal circumstances. _Seriously_.

'So' he thinks as he makes his way back to his hammock 'to sum up: R.J. is in love, Casey is in love, the girls are aware, Theo is either oblivious or playing opossum, and Fran is single.' Satisfied that he's hit all the major bullet points, Dom nods to himself. And walks straight past Casey in the dark, almost without seeing him.

Because Dominic has been well trained at a secret ninja academy he only goes a couple of steps before his brain snaps to and orders him backwards. When he gets back he half expects to find that he was seeing things, but nope, there's Casey sitting in the dark staring at nothing.

"Casey? Casey, are you okay? Did something happen?" Dom keeps his voice low and soft, as much not to startle Casey as to keep from waking the others. "Casey? Casey, c'mon man, answer me."

Dom reaches out a hand towards the still form, and the tiger's head snaps around. His next clear sight is the ceiling of the loft. His chest feels tight, and he realizes that's because he's had the wind knocked out of him. It might also have something to do with the nineteen-year-old boy currently sitting on his chest.


	8. Brawl

Brawl

Yup. I'm baaaack. Sorry it took so long, these two just didn't want to come out and play for love nor money.

Legal stuff is all still in chapter 1. Otherwise enjoy.

**Brawl**

Casey is not entirely sure how long he's been sitting on the practice mats in the dojo of the loft. He only vaguely knows that any time has passed at all. He only has one thought that plays on an incessant loop his brain, the image of a shirtless, smiling Dominic entering R.J.'s room. This is pain. Nothing else in his life, or even in his career as a Ranger has prepared him for pain like this.

It feels like someone held a dagger in bonfire until it was red hot and glowing, and then shoved it into his chest, right up to the hilt.

He notes a shadow moving in the dark, just on his periphery. He gives it no real thought; it's probably Theo on a quest for water, or Lily on the hunt for a midnight snack. So when Dominic's voice breaks the stillness, he is not prepared at all.

Somewhere in the back of his mind he registers that Dom sounds concerned. Casey is a million miles away from that place.

He doesn't think. He just feels something inside of him break at the sound of Dom's voice, although, break is too mild a word. It's more like Dom's voice sets off a chain reaction that starts in his ears and ends someplace much further away.

Something inside Casey raises it's head.

Casey feels his body move without really clearing it with his brain. He feels the muscles in his legs tense, coil, and then spring. He feels his arms come up and go out to catch Dominic (_thief_) in the middle, the thickest body mass. He feels his lips curl back to bare his teeth.

Dominic _(interloper, thief_), shock painted all over his face; goes down like a sack of potatoes. Casey rears back, and feels his body settle itself, and then he sees Dom's throat. It's bare, long, and white in the low light of the loft (_thief, interloper, MATE taker_), one way to end it, old way to end it. He is pulling back to bite down, when Dom makes his move.

Dom's body tenses, and he bends upward to slam his head into Casey's mouth. Casey's hands come up to cup his jaw, unthinkingly, and Dom gets enough leverage to buck the cub off. Casey rallies, turning to meet the (_interloper, thief, mate taker_) threat but Dom is quicker, and better trained than a cub moving purely on animal instinct and pain.

Casey barely has time to draw breath before it woofs out of him as his body, including his head, hits the floor, hard. His vision and thoughts swim wildly for a moment, and when he comes back to himself Casey is on his stomach on the mat, and Dom is perched on Casey's butt. One of Dom's knees is firm against the small of Casey's back, and Dom is holding both of Casey hands pinned behind him, against the back of his neck.

Casey snarls, and tries to thrash, but Dom (_MATE TAKER!_) just moves with him, his hold implacable.

"Casey." Dom's voice is calm, and smooth, and the sound of it pisses Casey off even more. He thrashes again, his jaws snapping together trying to catch any part of Dom's anatomy they can.

"Casey," the voice is still calm but stronger, more insistent now, Casey thrashes harder.

"Casey! CASEY! _Casey, I didn't sleep with R.J.!_"

The growling in his head lessens almost immediately, and Casey feels the red rage behind his eyes stop pounding. His body doesn't stop thrashing under Dom's, but there is distinctly less movement.

"_Casey_…" Casey's growls, lower but no less fierce, cuts Dom off from whatever he was planning to say. He can't trust this man, this mate taker. Casey growls again, more loudly, and feels his body tensing for another try at bucking Dom off.

Casey hears Dom mutter a long string of soft words. He can make out several curses, as well as "idiot", "stubborn", and "freaking' perfect together". He feels Dom take a long, deep breath above him. When Dom speaks again there is a… tone to his voice that compels Casey to listen. _This _voice isn't talking to _him_, it's talking to the growls.

"Tiger, I am Rhino. I swear to you by the rights and laws of our people that I am innocent of the heinous deed that you have charged me with. I offer you, judge me. If I am found wanting, I offer you my life as forfeit."

Casey's body stops moving as suddenly as it began. He feels what few higher brain functions he'd held onto during the struggle become fuzzy, as though someone or something has wrapped them in cotton. He feels his hands brace themselves against the ground, and manages to register that Dom is no longer sitting on top of him.

Casey pushes himself to his knees, and then rises to his feet. He turns to meet Dom face to face, and has to drop his eyes about two feet. Dom is still on his knees, his eyes though are boring straight into Casey's and Casey's bore right back. He doesn't know what he's looking for, or how to find it, but find it he does.

Innocence. Dom _(Rhino)_ was telling the truth. Casey steps back, and feels the growling _(Tiger)_ fade away abruptly, and as suddenly as he'd lost it his body is his own again. The transition makes him dizzy, and he stumbles.

Dom catches him before he hits the mat. The rhino wraps a strong arm around him and guides him up into the kitchen, to a seat a seat at the counter. He bends his head and begins an intense study of that same counter as he tries to figure out what the _hell_ just happened. He looks up again when something cold splatters along the back of his neck. Casey looks up to see Dom proffering a glass of water.

Casey feels a moment of déjà vu, as time has apparently once more passed without his realizing it. Dom evidently found time to go put on a shirt, and he can distinctly smell butter melting, somewhere near by.

"I don't know about _you_, but a near execution always gives me an appetite. I hope you like scrambled eggs." The voice is right, sharp and snarky, and very much the Dominic they've all come to know. But Casey is looking right into his eyes, and the good humor of his voice is nowhere to be found in Dom's eyes.

"I… it…" what to say to a person that you'd almost killed; Casey looks away from Dom and tries to figure out the answer to the age old question. He considers the words "I'm sorry", but dismisses them almost as soon as he's thought them. He _isn't _sorry. He's embarrassed, and frightened, and confused, and still a little pissed, but not _sorry_.

Something inside of him is extraordinarily satisfied with what had just happened, and that might be the scariest thing of all. Casey glances back towards Dom and has to actively fight down the urge purr. And Dom had _known_! Dom had known how to reach out and touch whatever the hell had overtaken Casey's nervous system, and make it listen. He'd known how to make it content _without_ bloodshed and death.

And now he's holding out a peace offering. Casey can see it in his face. This is a chance to ask questions, and get some answers, and not be scared that Dom would laugh in his face, or look at him like he was crazy, or run away like he was dangerous. If Dom had wanted to run he could have done it while Casey was playing Counter Inspector.

Casey meets Dom's eyes, and tries to project confidence, which he doesn't feel, and curiosity, which is beginning to ache in his belly something fierce. Dom smiles at him, softly, and Casey feels the ache begin to ease. Dom will answer his questions.

Casey smiles back as his mouth begins to water. "I love scrambled eggs."


	9. Armistice

Armistice

This is a short one. Don't blame me, blame Casey and Dom, this is what they gave me to work with.

All legal things are in chapter one.

**Armistice**

Casey isn't sure what he expects Dom's cooking to be like. He would have thought that if Dom ever cooked, (really cooked, the kitchen at JKP doesn't count), that there would be splashing liquids, and clattering dishes, and a mess that would make the helpful, furry animals of a Disney cartoon go right for the throat of whichever Princess was press ganging into service via song. He also would have been wrong.

Dominic is surprisingly intent when cooking. He makes them both the promised scrambled eggs, and toast to go with them, and cleans his dishes as he goes. By the time he joins Casey at the island, Casey's ready to begin his second plate of unbelievably fluffy eggs, and all evidence of Dom's machinations in food preparation are drip-drying in the drainer.

They eat slowly. The fight earlier had Casey wired, but Dom had stalled all of his attempts to find out just what the _hell_ had happened saying that it would be better if Casey heard it on a full stomach. Casey is halfway through his second plate of eggs when Dom begins to talk.

"So, do you want this the way I heard it, or do you want it the way it makes sense?"

Casey looks up, startled. Dom is sitting across from him, cool as ever; Casey thinks that it's probably easy to be cool when you haven't lost control of your own body less than an hour before.

"What? Not, do you want the long version or the short version?"

Dom smiles, "There isn't any short version. There's only long and pompous, or long and understandable."

"Everything has a short version. Even people."

"Not everything."

"Well, excuse me for wanting to know why and how I lost control of my body as quickly as possible, but I'm a little freaked out!"

"Fine." Dom narrows his eyes. "So, you want to know what happened."

It's not a question, but Casey answers him anyway. "Yes."

"In short?"

"Yes." Casey nods emphatically and takes another bite of egg.

"You tried to kill me because you're in love with R.J."

Casey doesn't spit out the egg, but it's a near thing. He chokes instead.

Dom is kind enough to get him a glass of water, which is the least he can do really, after dropping a bombshell like that. Casey sips, coughs a little bit more, and sips again. When his throat no longer feels like he's just run sandpaper along his windpipe, he attempts speech.

"Pardon?" One word, yeah, he was on the ball tonight. Dom's smile looks like it's attempting a hostile takeover of the rest of his face. Casey coughs again, and glares a bit for good measure. Dom's smile is not affected.

"I _said_, 'you tried to kill me because you're in love with R.J.'" Dom's voice is clear, but not slow. As big as his grin is, his voice holds no condescension, only amusement. Casey is silently thankful, if Dom had spoken like he was an idiot child, eggs or not Casey would've _had_ to kill him. "Casey." Casey raises his eyes from the eggs, and meets Dom's gaze. His eyes are bright, and soft. "Casey, there really isn't a short version. Sorry."

Casey takes a breath and holds it; counting in his head the way R.J. taught him before letting it out again. "Okay then," he says instead, "give me the way it makes sense."


	10. Storytelling

Storytelling

Author's Note - All legal stuff is in chapter one, and reviews are made of awesome.

**Storytelling**

"Okay then. Once upon a time…"

"Oh, come on Dom, I'm not a child!"

"Maybe not, but this story always struck me as being too much like a fairy tale for anybody's good, so I'm gonna tell it my way. With _minimal_ interruptions. Okay?"

"…"

"I'm sorry, were some words hiding in that grumble?"

"I said, _okay_."

"Okay. Let's start again, shall we? Once upon a time there was darkness, and then a deep voice said 'Let there be Light! And there was li…"

"Oh come _on_!"

"No need to shout. I'm just messin' with ya."

"Please, Dom. I want to know."

"Alright, once upon a time, there was a great war with the Dai Shi, and the animals who were against him came together with the humans that he was trying to crush. They had all fought in their own ways against him for a long while, but they had also all lost. Finally, someone, no one can remember whom, or even if it was an animal or a human, had the idea to combine their strength. Unfortunately, there was much distrust between the two groups, and the alliance was shaky, at best.

At the next battle against Dai Shi, the new allies fought bravely and while they didn't lose as badly, they did still lose. After several more battles, and several more defeats, it was clear that something had to be done. It was at this point that the strongest of the animals, the Lion, decided to try something entirely new.

The Lion went to one of the humans it had befriended, and said 'Warrior, we are much alike you and I. I regard you as not a human, but instead a piece of myself. I would ask for your help, and the help of your people, in a dangerous endeavor.'

The warrior, whose name was Kaito, was overwhelmed by praise from such a noble beast. He responded in turn, 'Lion, you astound me everyday with your bravery, and strength. If it does not offend you, I would call you brother for the rest of my days. Whatever you need of me I will do. Whatever you need of my people they will happily supply.'

The Lion was pleased by this, and told Kaito what his idea had been, 'Warrior, I am tired, and my body is wounded. Soon, it will die.' Seeing the horror on Kaito's face the Lion quickly continued on, 'my soul however is still strong, and wishes to fight on. I ask you warrior, let my soul share it's time here on the Earth with you in your body. Share with me your life, and in return I will share with you my strength, my spirit, and all that is myself.'

Kaito sat staring at the Lion, stunned nearly beyond speech. 'Oh, great Lion, it is my honor and my privilege to share with you my life, my body, and all that is myself.'

With these words, and a sharing of blood, Kaito took up his dagger and killed the Lion.

But when the Lion's soul left its former body it did not continue on into heaven. Instead it swiftly made its way to Kaito, and entered its new residence. It's said the screams of Kaito sounded like growls. Growls so loud they split the night in two, and people thirty miles away quaked for they were certain a storm to end all storms was upon them.

Warriors and Animals from all over the camp came running to Kaito's tent, where they found the man passed out, and the Lion dead with Kaito's knife in his side. 'Kaito has turned against us!' they all cried. 'We must be rid of him!'

But, the Lion's mate the mighty Bear stopped them all. 'No,' said the bear, 'I wish to know why Kaito has done such a thing.' And when Kaito awoke, he told them all, of how the Lion had confessed to be dying, and of his last request.

'This is treachery! these are lies! Mighty Lion would never shackle himself to such a lowly creature!' cried the animals.

But the Bear looked deep into Kaito's eyes, and saw the Lion looking back. 'This man holds the soul of my mate!' the Bear shouted, and this silenced the naysayers, for all knew that the Bear and the Lion were destined. 'And I will join him.' This caused a flurry of reaction, but Bear would not be swayed, and in the end Kaito's wife Namia stepped forward and said that she would share her being with the Bear, if the Bear would accept her.

The Bear looked deep within Namia's soul, and smiled at what he saw there. 'This woman is strong, and fierce. She is honorable, and I am happy to share all that I am with her.'

The next time the animal-human alliance met Dai Shi's forces on the battlefield, Kaito and Namia were leading the charge. It was a great victory.

At the celebration that night, the remaining humans and animals mixed their spirits, their strengths, and all that they were. And from that day to this their descendents, and their descendant's descendents have all share spirit with an animal that matches them in temperament, and soul."

Casey stared at him, his expression vaguely shocked.

"Questions?"

"…. Yeah. How do you know that story? I mean…'

"Master Mao, caught me pulling a prank on a couple of second years one time when I was a Cub. He made me learn it word for word, inflection for inflection. It took weeks." Dom grinned in remembrance, "Plus, whenever he asked I had to quote it back to him, word for word, or I got an extra mile added to my daily run and an extra hour added to daily meditation."

"Huh." Casey looked at him a moment and then visibly returned to the reason they were sitting in the kitchen in the wee small hours. "Why did I freak out on you? I mean that's a great story, but it still doesn't tell me why I…"

"Tried to kill me?"

"Exactly."

"Okay, usually you learn to work with your animal spirit at the academy over time, ya know? There are strict rules and regs to keep you in check as you learn to control it and yourself. Plus, the masters are there if you get out of hand. But, Casey you've gotta understand, you're getting on-the-job training and not a lot else, so you're accessing your tiger spirit a lot more deeply, and a lot more thoroughly than most Cubs would, or even could. So, you and the Tiger are much more closely tied than most of the others. Which means your emotions affect the Tiger, and the Tiger affects you too."

"…"

"…"

"Still, not quite sure what you're getting at Dom."

"Oh, well, your in love with R.J." Casey glared at him, and Dom thanked every god he'd ever heard of that he was able to keep from laughing at the younger man's expression. He took a deep breath, and continued on. "Because of that the tiger took a good long look at the wolf, and must have decided that the wolf would be just fine with him, so when you saw me come out of R.J.'s room the Tiger took over out of sheer pain and anger. And because you've become so immersed in him, he had the ability to control you're limbs."

"Now I'm even more freaked out then I was."

"Casey, it's okay. You still had control of your mind, and the tiger's not gonna try it again. It might be loathe to believe a human, but my rhino vouched for me, and it will believe him."

Yeah, but… Dom… I don't want to lose control like that again." Casey's voice was small, and shaky. Dom took a deep breath, and cursed a blue streak at Master Mao in his mind. Putting this kind of responsibility on a first year that had barely begun his training just wasn't right.

Dom let the breath out again and put his hand on Casey's shoulder, "Casey, I know it's freaky but you can't let it get you down. We need you too much in _this _war." Casey didn't look reassured, and Dom gave the shoulder under his palm a squeeze. "If you want, you could always ask one of the Master's to give you some extra training. Maybe help you reach some equilibrium with the tiger."

Casey let out a mirthless chuckle, "I can just picture that, 'Hey, Master Finn I was wondering, could you help me tame my tiger spirit before I jump your son and kill his best friend?' Yeah, that'd go over well."

"How about, Swoop or Phant? Either of them would help."

"Maybe, but they're really more connected to Theo and Lily." Casey looked up at him again, and Dominic had a sudden feeling of dread.

"Dom," Casey's voice was cautiously hopeful, "maybe, maybe _you_ could teach me. I mean you know all the details and everything already."

Dom closed his eyes briefly. He opened them again with every intention to turn the Cub down. He wasn't anybody's teacher! He wasn't even technically a Master, Casey deserved better. He deserved someone who actually knew what he was doing. He definitely deserved someone who hadn't had every intention of sleeping with his soon-to-be-mate just hours before.

Casey's expression, part hope, part fear, part embarrassment, and part desperation, changed his mind.

"Yeah, okay." Dom could hear the resignation in his tone, but couldn't help it.

"Really?!"

"Yeah, really."

"Great! When do you want to start?"

Dom took another breath, (it was not a sigh, he did not sigh damn it!), "Tomorrow. We'll start tomorrow. Barring the end of the world, of course" This last was said with a tired grin, which Casey returned. "For now, I think we should both go to bed."

"Good idea. Goodnight Dom."

"Goodnight, Casey I'll see you in the morning." Dom waved as the youth went off in the direction of his and Theo's room, and then turned in the direction of his own hammock. Morning would come soon enough, for now it was time to sleep.

The next morning all hell broke loose in Ocean Bluff


	11. Mourning

Mourning

Author's Notes - Okay, so in my last chapter I ended on what I thought was a pretty evident cliffhanger, the introduction of the Spirit Rangers, and the general asskicking of the Rangers that followed. Apparently, I was a little vague about that. Sorry.

Legal stuff is, as always, in Chapter One.

**Mourning**

#6 – family

Casey watches R.J. constantly after the defeat of the Shark Spirit Ranger. He is not the only one. Even Fran is on the job, having observed the whole thing on the monitors at the loft. Not one of them is entirely sure what it means for Master Finn that the Shark Ranger faded like that, but Casey _is_ certain of what it means for R.J.

He and his father had just been getting to know each other again, had just been able to put down some of the massive baggage they'd been carrying, and then Master Finn was taken, and R.J. was a wreck. He was hiding it well, and Casey is silently grateful for his somewhat embarrassing habit of R.J. Watching because he knows all the different ways R.J. holds himself, and this forced calm is not normal.

He nearly breathes a sigh of relief that night when he comes up the stairs from JKP to find R.J. on the mats of their makeshift dojo, running basic routines. From the amount of sweat pouring off of him, Casey guesses he's been at it for a while. Probably, since Casey had taken Fran home, and the others had all bid each other goodnight, including R.J., and each had headed for the sanctuary of their own room.

'So much for that,' he thinks.

Casey moves as quietly as he can from his position in the shadows, and to the side of the mats. He can see the moment R.J. knows his privacy is gone, there's slightly more tension in his shoulders than the move requires. Casey once more praises his slightly embarrassing habits, and steps lightly onto the mat.

He moves opposite R.J., and notes the flare of surprise in the others man's eyes. He waits another three passes before his arm snaps out and meets R.J.'s halfway through the move. R.J. jerks back, with less grace or skill than Casey had expected. Apparently this impromptu training session had been going even longer than he'd guessed. R.J. recovers, and moves away, but Casey refuses to be put off and follows, matching R.J.'s next pass with another block. They keep moving, R.J. backing up, Casey chasing and blocking, the movements gaining speed, gaining power, until something has to change, and it does. R.J. strikes out, a move not in the kata, and Casey doesn't just block this time. He strikes back, R.J. matches him, and now they're sparring in earnest. Their legs fly, their arms swing, and the only sound in the room is that of their panting and the dull thud limb meeting limb.

Casey can't say how long they go for. His entire focus is R.J. R.J.'s body, R.J.'s breath, and the next move R.J. is likely to throw at him. He's so focused that when there's a sharp trilling sound from the street outside (car alarm?), it breaks his entire concentration. R.J. throws three sharp moves, and suddenly what little breath Casey had managed to hang on to, has departed sharply from his lungs for parts unknown. He's on his back staring up at the roof of the loft, when very suddenly R.J.'s face is hovering in his line of vision, and R.J.'s body is straddling him, pinning him.

Casey is panting, but so is R.J. and he feels a moment of pride that he's been able to give as good as he'd gotten, when R.J.'s eyes catch his. R.J.'s eyes are dark, and shining, and very close. At this distance they look like nothing so much as a lake at midnight, and Casey has a sudden, ridiculous desire to go swimming. They're breathing each other's breath they're so close, and then there is not even that much distance as R.J. leans in and kisses him.

Although, kiss rather rapidly loses any claim, as to what this should be called. Devour might be better, or ravish. Yeah, R.J. is ravishing him with his mouth Casey thinks muzzily, right before R.J.'s hands skim down his chest to tweak one Casey's nipples through his shirt.

Casey moans, and stops thinking.

R.J.'s mouth is some kind of heaven made entirely of warm heat, and his tongue is probing Casey's mouth like it wants physical proof that he did in fact lose his tonsils at age 10. One of R.J.'s hands continues to flick and pinch gently between Casey's nipples, the other slips down the rest of his torso to the hem of his t-shirt and slides back up this time underneath the fabric to join it's brother.

R.J.'s tongue seems to have completed it's investigation, because R.J. breaks the kiss, (ravishment), to begin an entirely new investigation, this time on his throat. R.J. kisses, nibbles, sucks, and bites his way from one side of Casey's neck to the other. He hits the fragile skin that covers Casey's wildly beating pulse, and Casey can't help the guttural moan that seems to come from his spine. The older man pauses, and then ducks his head to suck hard at the newly discovered hot spot. Casey groans again, and grabs R.J.'s head. He pulls the other man closer, and a vague part of him notes that he will have a hell of a hickey tomorrow.

Casey breaks the kiss with a gasp, and R.J., (like the ninja master he is), takes advantage of the situation, and yanks Casey's shirt up and off in one quick motion. Casey feels R.J.'s mouth taking the place of his mouth before he hears the fabric hit the floor. Casey can feel teeth scratch at him, and he arches up into the other man's mouth, his hands sinking once more into R.J.'s soft, soft hair. Hair that seems to be made for grabbing, and clutching, and Casey revels in the feel of it in his fingers, even as he writhes under that warm, talented mouth.

R.J. pulls away from his chest, and Casey can't help the whimper that escapes him. He reaches out to catch the other man, but R.J. is faster, and he's on his feet before Casey can catch him.

Casey struggles for control. His breaths, great shuddering gasps that they are, are the only sounds in the room. Finally, slowly, he props himself up on his elbows, and sees that R.J. has not gone far, only the other side of the room. Even from this distance, he can sees that R.J.'s eyes are staring at him, that their color is still dark. R.J. turns away, and Casey feels the dismissal like a slap.

He climbs to his feet, and moves to the place where his shirt fell. As he pulls it on, he hears a soft sound, like an animal whimpering in pain. He stills for a moment, thinking.

The sound comes again, softer. R.J.'s back is still to him. Casey nods slightly to himself, and moves.

R.J. is stiff under his hands, and even stiffer when Casey's arms wrap around him, firm but not tight. The hug is awkward, and R.J.'s back is not a part of him that Casey ever imagined resting against, but he keeps holding on.

His patience is rewarded. R.J. turns in his arms, and puts his head to Casey's shoulder. The soft whimpering sounds grow into full born sobs, and R.J. lets himself rest against the younger man, his leader and friend, and mourn. Casey holds on.

Sorry for the wait, hope it was worth it.


	12. Daybreak

Daybreak

All legal stuff is in Chapter One.

**Daybreak**

#15 – peace

It's Lily who finds them the next morning.

She's been awake or half conscious most of the night, but as the sun begins its' slow creep over her windowsill, she finds herself unwilling to get out of bed. In fact she is struggling not to pull the covers up over her head like a seven year old. She would really much rather bury her head in the warm sunshine colored fabric surrounding her than face whatever the increasingly psychotic world she lives in has in store. In bed it is warm, and comfy, and safe. In bed there is no reason to run straight into the arms of today's life threatening danger masquerading as some malformed monster that feeds off of the fear of normal people. In bed she doesn't have to confront upset teammates, or grieving masters, or jerky costumers, who wanted their Anchovy Surprise without the anchovies, "if you could sweetie".

Lily huffs out a breath in amusement. What she wouldn't give for the worst part of her day to be stupid, inconsiderate costumers that she could politely, and happily kick to the curb at 10:00 sharp.

'_Instead'_, she thinks as she gives in and kicks off the blankets, _'I get anxiety over whether my master is about to go off the deep end because he may have killed his father, who was trying to kill all of us against his will. Yup, a Power Ranger, that's what I want to be when I grow up.'_ Lily laughs mirthlessly to herself as she pulls a long sleeved black shirt with a small yellow star on it over her head.

'_God, I hope this doesn't break us._' She thinks as she brushes her hair back into a ponytail. _'We can't let this break us. None of the master's would ever forgive us.'_

She takes a deep breath, and leaves her small sun-filled sanctuary to meet the new day head on. And stops two steps out of the hallway at the sight before her.

R.J. and Casey, curled together so tightly that even though they're both in their Ranger colors, (_'and fully clothed'_ a small, shallow part of her mind notes unhappily) it's difficult to tell where one ends and the other begins. Casey is flat on his back on the practice mats with R.J. curled around, and on top of him; the older man's head resting on the younger's shoulder, Casey head resting in the crook of R.J.'s arm.

Lily stares for a moment, struck by how peaceful they seem. For a wretched, horrible minute she is unutterably jealous of the comfort these two exude without effort.

'_Huh, so death is all it takes for them to get together. Who knew.'_ The thought is stupid and selfish, and she feels ashamed as soon as it crosses her mind. These are her friends, and she's relieved to see R.J. at peace for even a moment; and Casey, who feels every defeat, every loss, as a personal failure, deserves all that he can get too.

Lily moves as quietly as she has ever done, as she skirts around the mats and up the stairs to the kitchen. First one up makes the coffee, and if she's learned anything about her teammates it is that every single one of them would cross the Sahara for a good cup of coffee in the morning. The day will begin in earnest soon, but for now she will let the other's hide in their blankets, and guard her friends as they comfort each other, unknowingly.

Lily waits for the coffee to perk and smiles slightly. If it is a little strained, or if her eyes are slightly damp, well, there is no one to notice except the two men she keeps watch over.


	13. Reveille

Reveille

Author's Note - All legal stuff is in Chapter One.

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**Reveille**

*****

Casey wakes to warmth.

Well, okay, he _also_ wakes to a slightly sore back, a crick in his neck, a Charley Horse in his left leg, and the smell of coffee in his nose. He notes, judges, and dismisses all but the smell of coffee as irrelevant. (It's not like a Charley Horse really has anything on being thrown into a car by a truly ludicrous looking monster anyway.) The warmth however is new and unexpected, though not unpleasant, so Casey's focus swings right back to it after lingering on the coffee smell for another moment.

The warmth is almost overwhelming, and carries with it comfort, and weight. Literal weight. Casey can feel it pressing into his shoulder and encircling his waist. The weight is comfortable, and comforting, and every instinct Casey has is purring like a contented, well, cat. He stays very still and opens his eyes.

It has the feeling of a momentous occasion, and so Casey is a little consternated that the first thing he sees is the ceiling of the loft. It's a very nice ceiling, high and dappled with early morning sunlight, but it is not a momentous ceiling. Casey blinks, but the ceiling is still before him. He takes a deep breath and his eyes flick to the side, and Casey feels his mouth stretching into what he's sure is the goofiest grin to ever cross his face.

R.J. is asleep, with his head on Casey's shoulder, and his arm around Casey's waist, which Casey is quietly grateful for. If it weren't for R.J.'s arm holding him down, Casey is sure that he would be floating up to the not-very-momentous ceiling from pure joy. Casey has absolutely no desire, what so ever, to do anything at all that would break this moment. He doesn't think he would move even if God and his mother both suddenly appeared and demanded it.

Instead he stays very still and indulges his increasingly frequent habit of R.J. Watching.

In sleep R.J. is peaceful. Stilled in a way that he never is while awake. Even at rest, or during meditation, R.J. thrums with _something_; a lust for life, an eagerness to know and embrace whatever's coming next, or (more recently) a quiet desperation and worry for his father.

It's that thought that wipes the goofy grin right off Casey's face. R.J.'s dad, and the Shark Spirit Ranger, and last night, and the fact that they _still_ don't know where the Masters are.

They still don't know what's happened to Master Finn.

And, of course, (because the universe _has_ a sense of humor, unfortunately it's that of a sick and twisted twelve-year-old) it's as Casey thinks that thought that he feels R.J. moving in his arms. Casey turns under R.J.'s arm, and feels the muscles in the other flexing against his ear. _'Huh, so that's what I had my head on', _he thinks and then promptly loses the thought as R.J.'s eyes open.

The two stare at each other, and Casey watches the rapid fire play of thought and emotion through R.J.'s eyes, so he's sees the surprise, and the comprehension that comes with memories of the previous night, and then the terrible, heart-shattering moment when R.J. remembers _why_ everything that happened last night occurred. Casey watches R.J.'s eyes, and for the very first time in his career of R.J. Watching he sees R.J.'s soul.

It's too much. It's too intimate, too shattered, too longing. It's too precious to just _see_. Casey feels wrong just looking into those eyes; it feels like he's trampling somewhere he shouldn't be without invitation. He feels like he's stealing something wonderful and rare.

R.J. looks back at him, and Casey gives the only thing he can in recompense. He stares back, and lets everything into his own eyes.

Casey can't say how long they stare. It feels like forever, and an instant at the same time. Then R.J. blinks, and it's like cold water sprinkled on his face. Casey pulls back into himself.

R.J.'s arm is still around his waist; the other is still beneath his head. Casey listens to R.J.'s pulse pound through the veins in the crook of his elbow, and makes an intense study of R.J.'s stubble. Unsurprisingly, it's much more untamed in the morning.

R.J.'s fingers flex against his hip, and Casey's eyes snap back up to R.J.'s. The pain, and the sadness is still there, but it's tempered by something that makes Casey's breath catch. R.J. leans in, and catches Casey's lips with his, and it's like the night before, except for how it's _nothing_ like the night before.

The night before was fast, intense, almost harsh. R.J. was running on pain, and frustration, and fury and needed to feel something, anything else. This morning he's soft, gentle, careful even, and Casey is astounded. R.J. can _kiss_. There are teeth nibbling his lips, a tongue teasing his, a hand stroking his hip in small light circles, and Casey feels his world flip upside down.

Casey feels devastated. Casey feels _wonderful_.

The kiss breaks as they both feel the pressing urge to breathe, and Casey feels the grin from earlier make its' (much more restrained) return. R.J. smiles back and Casey feels the world shift a little. They're going to be all right. Everything's going to be just fine. Casey knows it, he can feel it in his bones, and he can see the same knowledge reflected in R.J.'s eyes. They're going to be _fine_.

The two disentangle themselves, and Casey's bladder makes him aware that this is a good and necessary thing. He gets up from the mat, as R.J. does and stretches. Casey makes a gesture toward the hallway, (and the bathroom that is housed there) and R.J. smiles again as he heads towards the stairs to the kitchen.

Casey turns to make his way towards the hallway, when something tickles his memory. He smelled coffee when he woke up. R.J.'s coffeemaker is good, but not computerized. Somebody was in the kitchen this morning.

Casey spins n place, and sees R.J. on the stairs heading up, and Lily in the kitchen; a cup of coffee in her hand, and her back firmly to the rest of the loft. Casey grins and resolves to do something amazing for Lily. She deserves it.

Maybe after all the fighting is done he'll take her on a road trip to Disneyland. Casey has a sudden vision of Theo in a pair of Mickey Mouse ears, sandwiched between a similarly attired Dom and R.J., of Lily in a Snow White costume, of Fran in Belle's ball gown, and of himself being kissed by R.J. in the middle of the park as the fireworks go off, and grins even more brightly in the dark hallway.

Yeah, after they win, everybody's going to Disneyland.

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Remember... feedback is made of hugs and puppies.


	14. Contemplation

Contemplation

Author's Note - Please forgive the short length of this chapter. I have a feeling I'm going to be bringing this story to a close soon, and those chapters will probably much longer if that helps at all.

For all legal jargon please see Chapter One.

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_Contemplation_

_**_

**

R.J. is not entirely certain that there is, in fact, a hell.

To be fair, he is also undecided on the factual qualities of heaven.

R.J. believes in life, in love, in friendship, family, loyalty, and in doing the right thing. He does his best to save the planet, and be a friend to all creatures, and he has a vague sense of guilt over still being an omnivore. However the month that he spent as a vegan… well, the less said the better.

That was the first time he'd ever felt his control of the wolf slipping.

His control has gotten considerably better since then, and R.J. makes a quiet effort to eat at least a little meat everyday. He also believes that a little caution never hurt anybody.

So entering a his own brightly lit kitchen, with the smell of coffee in the air, and the warm weight of Casey a phantom against his arms should not in anyway be daunting, or ominous. R.J. is the Wolf Ranger. He's fought multiple external enemies (_including a disturbingly tentacled_ hyena) and his own internal self. He has faith again, and Casey to thank for it's return. His father (_wherever Dai Shi has him_) is fine, if he weren't R.J. would know. He'd _know_.

Of course, that fact had never been in question. If he'd felt even a moment of doubt in his father's ability to persevere, his cubs would have had a hell of a lot more to worry about than surliness, and a night time kata. It's the feeling of helplessness that R.J. despises. The feeling that he should be doing something, doing _something_, that could find his father and the other masters just that little bit faster.

Casey helped him there. Casey, who refused to back down, or off. Who watched R.J. break in a way he hadn't since his mother had died without judgment or pause. Casey who'd held him through the night, and kept all bad things at bay. Casey, his mate. R.J. smiles to himself at the memory of Casey that is only moments old. A Casey that is sleep-tousled, and smiling, and warm. R.J. is determined to make many more variations on that memory.

Today is going to be a good day. R.J. can feel it. He is at peace with himself, and peace with oneself equals equanimity with the universe. Equanimity with the universe is all that is necessary for a peaceful existence in life.

A coffee cup with an utterly delicious scent pouring from it shoved unceremoniously under his nose breaks him from his contemplations of the glory of his small part of the universe.

Lily is holding out a coffee cup with a very, very small grin, and very, very bright eyes.

R.J. feels his hold on equanimity slip from of his grasp like a fish.

"Is there any possibility of bacon this morning?"

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Thank you for your time. Please remember all donations of feedback will be cheerfully accepted.


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